There is definitely a good amount of research concerning this subject. Sleep has five stages. During the deeper stages (also called slow-wave sleep) of sleep, the body restores itself and the brain uses less glucose and thus glucose metabolism is slower. The body then speeds up metabolism during the second part of the night. This being said, any shortening or alterations in sleep could plausibly have an effect on insulin resistance (1). For example, sleep fragmentation, such as that experienced in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can ultimately put the body in an inflammatory state. Inflammation is correlated with diabetes. In short, OSA increases sympathetic activity which increases gluconeogenesis and the breakdown of glycogen (2). Multiple studies have also shown an increase in diabetic incidence with either short or prolonged amounts of sleep (3,4). Thus too much or too little sleep can prove to be a risk factor. These correlations were seen even after controlling for hypertension, smoking, and waist circumference.
1. Touma C, Pannain S. Does lack of sleep cause diabetes? Clev Clinic Journ of Med. 2011. 78(8):549-558.
2. Zizi F, Jean-Louis G, Brown C, et al. Sleep duration and the risk of diabetes mellitus: epidemiologic evidence and pathophysiologic insights. Current Diabetes Report. 2010. 10(1): 43-47.
3. Yaggi HK, Araujo AB, McKinlay JB. Sleep duration as a risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes.Diabetes Care. 2006. 29(3): 657-661.
4. Quan SF, Howard BV, Iber C, et al. The sleep heart health study: design, rationale, and methods. Sleep. 1997. 20(12):1077-85.
Rachel Neilson 9 years, 8 months ago.
